Louisbourg

We set out from Englishtown one day, only to have a flat tire (our first mishap of any kind, PTL!), which required the purchase of two new tires at the nearby Wal-Mart and forced us to delay our trip to Louisbourg until the next morning. But we finally got on our way and enjoyed a beautiful 1 1/2 hour drive across eastern Cape Breton. On the way we passed this Cape Breton fried chicken restaurant: I'm assuming they got the idea for their catchy title from KFC's slogan, Finger-Lickin' Good, but I can't see the name taking off here in the US!

The French were, and still are, a major force in the life of Cape Breton. The sad story of the Acadians is told by Longfellow in his epic poem, "Evangeline." But the French also had a major military interest in the area, and possessed, off and on, the Fortress Louisbourg. It is shown here across the bay from the modern town of Louisbourg and is the Cape Breton equivalent of our Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. It is a National Historical Site and very interesting to visit.The visit begins with a walk through this gate, where one encounters cod fisherman working in their shop or on their nets. The king's bakery nearby provides loaves of "soldier's bread" which is pretty rough but good. As you walk the streets you pass various vendors and soldiers going about their daily chores. Several times a day the soldiers drill and march to the waterfront where they fire a musket volley and cannon. And each day a thief, the same thief, is publically disciplined for stealing a bottle of wine. (You'd think he'd learn, eh?)

Fortress Louisbourg is described as the largest restored fortress in North America. On leaving Fortress Louisbourg at the end of the day, we stopped at a local restaurant for a sampling of...you guessed it...more lobster.

We haven't tired of it yet! Mmmmmm, good! Wish you were here!

Rog and Meg, Geri and Jon

Puffins and Eagles

One of the days at Englishtown we set out by boat for the Bird Islands, a local sanctuary for puffins, eagles and any other birds that want to stay.
Our boat was captained and owned by Donelda, a lovely lady who has been doing these tours for over twenty years. She and her husband are lobster fishermen who run the bird-watching tours in the off (lobstering) season. She was very knowledgeable and together they often spotted an eagle or seal well before the rest of us could see it. We saw lots of bald eagles and puffins, as well as grey seals, kittywakes, razorbills and others. This eagle is near the boat dock and landings and can often be seen fishing nearby.
This is a puffin nesting high on the rocks.
I've added a picture from

the web so you could really appreciate the puffin's beauty. They're in Maine also and we hope to see more of them.
The bald eagles are very numerous on the islands (there are at least five in this photo). Though we've seen eagles in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, we'd never seen this many at one time.

Eastern Cabot Trail

After 3 nights in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, we moved to a private campground at Englishtown for the next 4 nights. We traveled the eastern portion of the Cabot Trail, beginning our day at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts. They're doing much to maintain the Gaelic language, skills such as piping and dance, and to provide a venue for education about all things Gaelic for the general public. We toured the Hall of the Clans and learned more about our ancestors, both in Scotland and in the New World. Great time! (It was rainy but we don't let that stop us most days!)

We hiked several times during the day, mostly looking for another elusive geocache.
We stopped for a few moments at the Keltic Lodge, a ritzy $400/night (meals included) place. We didn't stay long, but it was beautiful and the grounds were especially pretty.

The real joy of the day was dinner! We had noticed a sign on the volunteer fire department of a small town through which we passed, advertising an "all you can eat" crab leg meal for the cost of $18. That included tea and strawberry shortcake for dessert. We didn't count how many we ate, but here's a fact: they lost money on us! It was a perfect cap on a lovely day!
Rog and Meg, Jon and Geri

Cape Breton Highlands

Following the Tall Ships Sailing from Halifax Harbour, we drove to Port Hastings, Cape Breton Island to begin that part of our journey. We spent the first night courtesy of Irving Truckstop, a little noisy at times, but OK. We drove up the coast the next day to a local distillery for an afternoon ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee",) which means "party"in Gaelic. Some local performers livened up our afternoon with some beautiful music
We camped for three days in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, near Cheticamp. We drove up and around the Cabot Trail, named for the explorer that first landed in these parts.It's a phenomenally gorgeous drive that rightfully earned it a place in the recent bestseller: A Thousand Places to See Before You Die
These moose-crossing signs mark the highway throughout. We hiked along the trail which included this beautiful boardwalk: We saw bald eagles, some pilot whales and some other birds. We looked and looked for mooses, but never did see any! Maybe we weren't looking in the right places!



We stopped for a few minutes at the beach where John Cabot landed, finishing our drive at the northern-most point on Cape Breton, Meat Cove, where there is this luscious campground.

Halifax and the Visit of the Tall Ships

Halifax is, and has always been, a major seaport of the east coast, protecting lanes of commerce between England and the New World. Fishing and seafood have been major players in the local industry. Here's a local monument to the lobster, a key to the success of that area. On Thursday 12 July we visited the downtown and harbo(u)r area.Here's St. Paul's Church, the oldest protestant church in North America, founded in 1749. And directly across the square from the church is the City Hall, a magnificent structure indeed.


Every year there is at least one large gathering of the "tall ships", relics or replicas of the sailing vessels of times past. This year was Tall Ships Festival Nova Scotia, and the ships began arriving on Thursday the 12th of July in rather dense fog. Friday was beautiful, however, and with our tickets in hand we visited the ships and boarded maybe twenty of them. The crews were very helpful and friendly and happy to have "landlubbers" aboard so they could show off their crafts. They came from all over the world: Germany and India as well as Canada, UK and, of course, our own USA This replica of a privateer used during the War of 1812, is flying "Old Glory" of that year, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner."

There were pirates there also; in fact, "Pirates: Facts and Fancy" was the theme of this year's festival.Here Meg has captured two of the scurvy dogs! Or, is it the other way around?

The Bounty was in port, too. Originally constructed and commissioned for the filming of the 1962 movie with Marlon Brando, she was most recently seen being swallowed by a sea monster in Pirates of the Caribbean 2. She looked pretty good for all she's been through!


Here's Jon, inspecting the guns on one of the ships. As each ship entered the Halifax harbor she saluted the crowd with cannonfire, much to the thrill of us all!

On the last day, Monday the 16th the ships left Halifax harbor in a "parade of sails." Quite a spectacle! They split up from there and groups of them went to smaller harbors around Nova Scotia, in order that more people could enjoy the festival.

Well, even the best of days must eventually come to an end. Weariness overtakes enthusiasm, and we start back toward the campground. But it's not always easy to know exactly what to do when you're driving in a new town:

Wish you were here!!

Roger and Meg